Weekly Newsletter

Friday, May 9, 2025

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We’re here to keep you informed on the local issues that matter most. Each week, we share our latest in-depth reporting, along with the most important stories from around the region, so you stay connected and up to date with what’s happening in your community.

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NEW FROM SUNCOAST SEARCHLIGHT:

Challenging new development in Sarasota? Be ready to spend a small fortune

Challenging a development in Sarasota doesn’t just take time — it takes money.

For more than two years, residents of Bay Plaza have tried to stop or reshape the Obsidian, a proposed 18-story condo tower that would become the tallest building in downtown Sarasota.

They’ve hired attorneys, enlisted experts and poured more than $100,000 into the fight — a number that would be closer to half a million if not for help from neighbors with professional experience.

And they’re not alone. Across Sarasota County, residents trying to challenge large development projects have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars just to get their concerns formally considered — often with no guarantee of success.

Now, as Bay Plaza’s fight reaches the Sarasota City Commission, the cost of being heard is once again front and center.

NEW FROM SUNCOAST SEARCHLIGHT:

Florida officials warn: Buyer beware as developer districts spread across the Suncoast

Buyer beware: That’s the warning from Florida officials as special development districts continue spreading across the Suncoast. A recent Suncoast Searchlight investigation found that developers are forming their own government entities, borrowing billions in public bonds to build infrastructure — and leaving future homeowners to pay it back.

Over the past five years, nearly $3 billion in bonds have been issued by these districts to fund new neighborhoods from Parrish to North Port. But unlike traditional governments, most of these boards remain under developer control for years, with residents having little say over spending or decision-making.



State and local officials told Suncoast Searchlight the system is easy to abuse — and they wouldn’t choose to live in one themselves. But few are pushing for reforms, leaving homeowners with rising fees and limited recourse outside of costly legal fights.

NEW FROM SUNCOAST SEARCHLIGHT:

Sarasota commissioners approve paying Arroyo’s legal fees in ethics probe

Sarasota taxpayers will cover the $10,285 legal bill racked up by former City Commissioner Erik Arroyo while defending himself against three ethics complaints filed during his time in office.

City commissioners voted 4-1 on Monday to approve the reimbursement. The complaints, filed by three local residents, accused Arroyo of using his elected position to promote a project without disclosing his business ties to it.

Vice Mayor Debbie Trice cast the lone dissenting vote. She said she was uncomfortable asking taxpayers to pay for what she viewed as Arroyo’s poor judgment.

“So even if somebody acts foolishly,” Trice asked, “we’re on the hook for their legal fees?”

NEW FROM SUNCOAST SEARCHLIGHT:

FACT BRIEFS

Suncoast Searchlight is partnering with Gigafact to produce weekly fact briefs — concise, 150-word news stories that take real claims circulating online and fact check them. Each brief offers a direct “yes” or “no” answer to the question or claim, followed by a clear explanation backed up by credible, high-quality sources.

READ THIS WEEK'S FACT BRIEFS:

Was a 700-acre fire at Myakka State Park due to a controlled burn?

Sarasota residents complained the city’s tap water tasted like ‘pool water.’ Was it safe to drink?

HERE'S WHAT ELSE WE RECOMMEND READING THIS WEEK

KOMPOTHECRAS REVIVING PROPOSAL FOR HIGH-RISE HOTEL ON SOUTH SIESTA KEY BY SEEKING AMENDMENT TO COUNTY'S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

FROM SARASOTA NEWS LEADER

With Sarasota County’s Planning Division staff still engaged in a review of Benderson Development Co.’s 2024 proposed amendments to the Sarasota County Comprehensive Plan to facilitate construction of high-rise hotels on Siesta Key, businessman and chiropractor Dr. Gary Kompothecras apparently has decided to launch his own effort to get his hotel built on the southern part of the island, The Sarasota News Leader has learned. At 6 p.m. on Monday, May 12, Robert “Bo” Medred, principal of Genesis Planning and Development in Bradenton, will host a Neighborhood Workshop via Zoom to present details of Kompothecras’ plans for a more limited Comprehensive Plan amendment than those Benderson has submitted to the county Planning Division staff. The new initiative mirrors one that Kompothecras launched in 2020 to enable him to construct a seven-story hotel on Old Stickney Point Road.

READ THE STORY HERE

BOCC APPRPOVES PURCHASE OF LAKEWOOD RANCH OFFICE COMPLEX

FROM THE BRADENTON TIMES

Manatee County Commissioners unanimously approved the $23.5 million purchase of a “secondary” county administrative building located in Lakewood Ranch during a commission meeting on Tuesday afternoon. The approval includes roughly $11 million in additional investment for renovations of the site, for a projected total investment of $34.8 million. The staff presentation indicated that the government departments of Development Services, Property Management, Financial Management, Government Relations, and County Administration — currently housed in the downtown Bradenton administrative building—are among those planned to be moved to the new Lakewood Ranch facility. Following the staff presentation, commissioners appeared widely supportive of the plan and purchase. Several citizens who provided public comment on the proposed purchase criticized what they called a lack of transparency.

READ THE STORY HERE

LAKEWOOD RANCH VIDEO SHOWS BALD EAGLE RESCUED FROM GATOR. HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED.

FROM THE BRADENTON HERALD

Doug Hay was inside his Lakewood Ranch home when a commotion outside caught his attention. After checking out the lake near his house, Hay saw a group of bald eagles circling the water. “But one of them, the one that hit the lake water, wasn’t doing too good,” Hay told the Bradenton Herald. “I figured they had a fight or something over territory or whatever. She got the worst of it.”

READ THE STORY HERE

SARASOTA COMMISSIONERS OK A RANGE OF DREDGING PLANS, SPENDING

FROM THE OBSERVER

The first of what could be a succession of dredging projects in Phillippi Creek will likely begin this summer, but county commissioners on Tuesday urged their constituents and county officials to reach out to federal authorities — namely U.S. Rep. Greg Steube — for help to move things along. First on the list is a project to dredge high spots in the creek directly attributable to sediment flow from the last hurricane season. That project is considered an emergency and requires neither state nor local approval. But federal approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, though, could take 120 days via an expedited process, County Public Works Director Spencer Anderson said. That’s where a little extra grease for a squeaky wheel might come in.

READ THE STORY HERE

HOUSING BOOM EAST OF I-75 LOOMING IN SARASOTA COUNTY AS LAKEWOOD RANCH SOUTHEAST PROCEEDS

FROM THE SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE

Confident that revised plans meet all legal obligations, Lakewood Ranch developer Rex Jensen is ready to break ground on major expansion plans into Sarasota County — and there is little that elected officials can do to stop the major housing boom that will follow east of Interstate 75 in Sarasota and Manatee counties. Sarasota County commissioners are scheduled to vote on a zoning change request that, if approved, will give Lakewood Ranch the green light to kick residential development of about 5,000 homes on 4,100 acres known as Lakewood Ranch Southeast into gear. Jensen believes he has met every requirement necessary for final approval from the County Commission, foremost of which was a change to the county's long-range growth plan, an approval that was fought through the appellate court level by citizen opponents.

READ THE STORY HERE

NEW PEOPLE COME FORWARD WITH CLAIMS AGAINST FRED PICCOLO

FROM WFLA AND SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE

Another woman reached out to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office last month after seeing a news article about Piccolo’s arrest, claiming he exposed his genitals on March 14 when he stopped to ask for directions in her neighborhood, WFLA reported on Monday. READ THE STORY HERE And on Friday, the Herald-Tribune reported having identified yet additional victims. READ THE STORY HERE

READ MORE ABOUT THE ONGOING PICCOLO CASE FROM SUNCOAST SEARCHLIGHT AND ITS PARTNERS (WUSF & FLORIDA TRIDENT):

• Delayed ID, missed arrest, downgraded charge: How Piccolo avoided jail for months

• New College’s background check missed 3 exposure charges before hiring Piccolo

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DID YOU MISS LAST WEEK'S NEWSLETTER?

HERE'S WHAT WE SHARED:

Developers gained government status, then got bonds to build big

Across the Suncoast, developers have quietly formed their own local governments — nearly 90 in Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties alone — to finance massive housing projects using tax-exempt municipal bonds.

These special districts, often controlled by the developers and their proxies, allow private companies to raise public money, build roads and sewers and pass the costs on to homebuyers through annual assessments. But while the neighborhoods might boast pristine landscaping and posh amenities, the consequences of this system are far-reaching — including runaway growth, opaque governance and financial risk for residents, a Suncoast Searchlight investigation found.

With limited oversight, developers have used these districts to float billions in bonds — nine times more spending power than the city of Sarasota — while for years retaining majority control of the boards that decide how to use the money.

In some cases, districts have financed extravagant projects like a beach-style swimming lagoon or even a baseball stadium for the Atlanta Braves. Yet if the housing market sours or a project fails, it’s the homeowners — not the builders — who are left footing the bill. During the Great Recession, dozens of local districts collapsed under the weight of unpaid bond debt.

Now, experts warn, the system could buckle again.

Delayed ID, missed arrest, downgraded charge: How Piccolo avoided jail for months

Fred Piccolo Jr., the former New College communications director accused multiple times of indecent exposure, avoided arrest for months due to identification delays, a missed opportunity by a deputy to act on arrest authority and the prosecutor’s decision to downgrade a recommended felony charge.

Records and interviews shed new light on how the case unfolded — offering a fuller picture of what law enforcement knew, when they knew it and how decisions by deputies and the state attorney shaped the response.

Ex-commissioner wants city of Sarasota to cover legal fees after ethics complaints

Former Sarasota City Commissioner Erik Arroyo is asking the city to reimburse more than $10,000 in legal fees he spent fighting ethics complaints that had not previously been reported.

Three local residents filed complaints early last year with the Florida Commission on Ethics, accusing Arroyo of using his elected position to promote a proposed project without disclosing his business ties to it.

The complaints stemmed from a February 2024 commission meeting where local businessman Jeff Koffman presented a proposal to turn Ken Thompson Park into a Park Golf course. Arroyo had requested the proposal be added to the agenda and, after the presentation, voted to send it to a city advisory board.

One month later, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that Arroyo had business connections to a company affiliated with Koffman’s Park Golf business — ties he did not disclose before the presentation or before he voted.

The statewide ethics commission launched a preliminary investigation but later dismissed the case after concluding that none of the complainants had “personal information” about the allegations, a requirement under a newly tightened state law governing ethics cases.

Mental health funding grew 157% since Parkland, but Suncoast schools still stretched

Seven years ago, Florida lawmakers responded to the deadly school shooting in Parkland with a pledge: more money for student mental health. Since then, the state’s Mental Health Assistance Allocation has more than doubled, sending over $175 million to school districts this academic year alone.

But school officials say the rising need is outpacing resources.





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Suncoast Searchlight is a 501c3 nonprofit news organization whose mission is to produce investigative and explanatory journalism that serves and empowers the residents of Florida’s Suncoast region (Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties). We shine a light on critical issues affecting our community. Through independent reporting and collaboration with diverse media partners, we foster transparency, accountability and an informed citizenry, ensuring that all voices are heard and that the public has access to the information they need to drive meaningful change.

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